In many optical local area networks (LAN) and optical backplanes that have a bus-type architecture, an optical repeater receives and combines optical signals from optical transmitters in system nodes as well as amplifies and individually retransmits the signals to optical receivers in the system nodes. System nodes transmit and receive optical signals via interconnecting optical fibers through the optical repeater. Specifically, the optical repeater combines optical signals received via the optical fibers and redistributes these optical signals via optical fibers back to the system nodes. The optical repeater has an optical splitter and an optical combiner. The combiner combines the received optical signals, and the splitter redistributes the combined optical signal.
The U.S. Patent application of L. L. Blyler, Jr., et al., Ser. No. 252,091, filed Sept. 30, 1988, and assigned to the same Assignees as the present application, discloses a passive optical device for performing the functions of an optical splitter or combiner. The disclosed device optically interconnects substantially circular bundles of optical fibers; however, the device cannot optically interconnect a linear array of fibers to a circular bundle of optical fibers or to a single large optical fiber without large optical losses. An example of an linear array of optical fibers is the silicon etched Multi-fiber Array Connector (MAC) manufactured by AT&T. Such linear arrays are important because of ease of manufacturing and physical routing in system applications.